made of money - quaker social action · pdf file9.2 marketing and partnership working ... 10.5...

Evaluation of the Made of Money Project V2

Barbra Carlisle 020 7503 5834

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Made of Money

Evaluation

Social Housing and Research Practice

Barbra Carlisle, 32 Wroxham Gardens London N11 2BA Tel 020 7503 5834 / Mob 0794 134 3029

Email: [email protected] www.sharp-research.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.sharp-research.com/



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Content

1 Introduction................................................................................................. 4

1.1 Aims of Made of Money .......................................................................... 5 2 Background ................................................................................................. 7

2.1 Wider context ........................................................................................ 7 2.2 Project setting ....................................................................................... 9

3 Profile of Made of Money ............................................................................ 12

3.1 Taster sessions .................................................................................... 12 3.2 Workshops .......................................................................................... 13 3.3 Residential course ............................................................................... 14 3.4 One to One advice ............................................................................... 15 3.5 Monitoring and evaluation tools ............................................................ 15

4 Profile of Participants .................................................................................. 16

5 Experiences of people using Made of Money ................................................. 19

5.1 Why people got involved ...................................................................... 19 5.2 Group/individual exercises .................................................................... 20 5.3 Factual information .............................................................................. 21 5.4 The facilitators .................................................................................... 23 5.5 The venue .......................................................................................... 24

6 Working with partner agencies .................................................................... 25

7 Benefits ..................................................................................................... 28

7.1 Budgeting skills ................................................................................... 28 7.2 Financial awareness ............................................................................. 29 7.3 Confidence levels ................................................................................. 30 7.4 Communicating with family members .................................................... 30

7.4.1 Communicating with adults ............................................................ 30

7.4.2 Communicating with children ......................................................... 31

7.5 Emotional development ........................................................................ 33 8 Strengths .................................................................................................. 34

9 Weakness .................................................................................................. 37

9.1 Capacity ............................................................................................. 37 9.2 Marketing and partnership working ....................................................... 38 9.3 Data collection .................................................................................... 39 9.4 Time and content of sessions ............................................................... 40 9.5 Engaging with children ......................................................................... 41

10 Other issues ........................................................................................... 42

10.1 Wider impact of Made of Money ............................................................ 42 10.2 Sustainability in the longer term............................................................ 42



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10.3 Accessing clients ................................................................................. 43 10.4 Other groups that could benefit from Made of Money ............................. 45 10.5 Made of Money’s relationship with Quaker Social Action ......................... 45

11 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 47



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1 Introduction

Made of Money aims to help families talk and learn about money. It does this by

teaching families about money through a series of short courses. Participants come

largely from the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney. The project’s

initial target was to work with 100 families, including 375 children, over three years,

focusing on low-income households. The project is run by Quaker Social Action

(QSA), was launched in October 2005. It was originally anticipated that the project

would run, and be funded for three years (2005 – 2008). This was achieved.

The aim of this report is to evaluate whether Made of Money met its original aims,

and to explore the impact it has had on the families that participated in the project.

Sharp Research Services, led by Barbra Carlisle, was commissioned to independently

evaluation the project. The review was carried out between June 2008 and

September 2008. It comprised:

Desktop analysis on written material relating to the project including:

o Funding applications;

o Monitoring and evaluation forms;

o Facilitators materials;

o Case files;

o User resource pack;

o Exploration of client database;

A depth focus group with key relevant staff at QSA;

Telephone interviews with five external partner agencies;

Telephone interviews with 18 families who had taken part in the project.

To assist in the interviews and focus groups topic guides were designed in

consultation with QSA. The interviews were transcribed and the content analysed.



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1.1 Aims of Made of Money

QSA recognises that it ‘does not bring any grand plan for the reduction of poverty’

and that while poverty may manifest itself in material objects, the emotional impact

of poverty should not be ignored. It bases individual project development on the

principles of meeting individuals’ needs and trying out ideas. This philosophy

influenced the design and delivery of Made of Money.

With the belief that poverty affects the whole household, not just the parents or the

family member in debt or without secure income, QSA designed Made of Money as a

project that would be able to include all family members.

The original aim of Made of Money was ‘to support low-income families to talk,

listen and learn about money and its impact on their lives’.

The detailed aims of Made of Money were to:

Enable families to have more open communication around money and the

issues it raises within the home;

Empower parents to feel more in control of their finances and the wider

emotional impact these have;

Equip children and young people with the skills needed to make informed

choices about money.

From the start QSA did not want to set a firm format down for Made of Money, the

intention was to trial various methods of delivering emotional financial literacy. After

a series of focus groups, run by QSA in 2005, that asked people how they would like

to learn more about money, the following format was decided upon:

Series of weekly workshops;

Family learning sessions;

One to one support for individual families;

Specific sessions with young people.



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Within the original funding applications Made of Money identified targets that they

would be working towards within three years. Targets included:

Working directly with 100 families in three years;

Develop partnerships with 5 organisations working on family development and support;

Develop links with 10 interested Quaker individuals or meetings around the country;

Develop a resource pack.

The rest of this report looks at how Made of Money worked towards achieving its

aims and targets.



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2 Background

2.1 Wider context

At a time when the cost of living is increasing the need to be financially astute is

ever more pressing. Knowledge on how best to spend the money in your purse, how

to ensure you access any welfare benefit entitlements, and how to manage your bills

and household costs is essential. While the average British family’s total income rose

£556 between 2007 and 2008, the total tax they had to pay rose by £610,

immediately making them £54 worse off. The average family also saw an 8.5%

increase in the amount of National Insurance contributions payable in the year1. Add

to this price rises in gas and electricity (rising 19% between 2007 and 2008), rises in

council tax, and the fact that food prices rose substantially between September

2007 and September 2008, for some there is not much money left to put in the

purse.

The above scenario is for the ‘average family’, and for some, including Made of

Money’s target group (low income households) the pressure on the purse is much

worse.

‘There are options and lifestyle choices we can take in order to absorb rising costs,

but tightening the purse strings and implementing money-saving options only go so

far.’ 2

Almost two-thirds of the UK population had incomes below the national average3,

with ‘average’ incomes skewed by a relatively small number of people on relatively

high incomes.

1 Daily Telegraph website 22 September 2008. ‘T Cost of living being pushed up by staple foods’

2 Daily Telegraph website 27 June 2008. ‘The Real Cost of Living Index: 9.5 per cent’

3 Brewer M et al (2008) ‘Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008’. Institute of Fiscal Studies



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The risk of families experiencing some degree of poverty will increase where inflation

and the cost of living continues to rise. This will make the government’s pledge (first

set out in 19994) to abolish child poverty within a generation very difficult to realize.

Poverty is often linked to financial exclusion, typically more likely to occur to people

on low incomes, claiming means tested benefits and those who left school before the

age of sixteen. As far back as 1999, people from Pakistani or Bangladeshi

communities were recognized as amongst those with the highest risk of financial

exclusion5.

While financial exclusion is about people not accessing financial services or not being

able to access appropriate services, it is increasingly discussed alongside financial

capability. Financial capability is defined as ‘the knowledge, ability and confidence to

make sensible financial decisions and manage money well’6. The Financial Services

Authority (FSA) also includes within the concept ‘the motivation to take action’.

‘Financially capable consumers plan ahead, find and use information, know when to

seek advice and can understand and act on this advice, leading to greater

participation in the financial services market.’ (FSA website)

The Government has set out its aspirations to improve financial capability among the

UK population7. One aim is to ‘ensure all adults in the UK have access to high-quality

generic financial advice to help them engage with their financial affairs and make

effective decisions about their money’. The role of children in future money

management is also recognised as a further aim is to ensure ‘all children and young

people have access to a planned and coherent programme of personal finance

education, so that they leave school with the skills and confidence to manage their

money well’. There is now a National Strategy for Financial Capability, led by the

FSA, which has a £17 million budget for 2007/2008.

4 DWP (1999) ‘Opportunity for all: Tackling poverty and social exclusion’.

5 JRF (1999) ‘Understanding and combating financial exclusion’. Joseph Rowntree Foundation 6 Blake S and De Jong E (2008) ‘Short Changed: Financial Exclusion – A guide for donors and

funders’. New Philanthropy Capital, London. 7 HM Treasury (2007) ‘Financial Capability: the Government's Long-Term Approach’



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Early work by the FSA8 had looked at children’s relationship with money through a

series of qualitative interviews. Findings pertinent to Made of Money include:

Children from lower income families were often involved in family budgeting

and saving however; this was less common amongst children from wealthier

families.

Children from lower income families were more familiar with the range of

household bills and how these can be paid than were children from wealthier

families.

Many teachers believed that being involved in family budgeting had given

their pupils from poorer families a sophisticated understanding of value for

money and most believed this understanding was more advanced than for

children from wealthier families.

2.2 Project setting

Quaker Social Action (QSA) runs a number of projects in East London with the aim of

tackling poverty and social exclusion. One of its projects, Made of Money principally

engages with families in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Hackney.

These two inner city London Boroughs are among the most deprived boroughs in

England, with both scoring highly on government Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

The indices consider a range of indicators that capture income and economic

deprivation. It also measures health, education, living environment deprivation along

with crime and barriers to housing and services. It includes families dependent on

state benefits for their income, unemployment levels and ‘hidden unemployment’

(such as those with disabilities or long term illness).

The London Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets have higher than average

unemployment levels among the working age population (see Table 1). They also

8 FSA (2000) ‘A cycle of disadvantage? Financial exclusion in childhood’. Financial Services Authority



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have higher than average levels of households claiming a welfare benefit. Following

on from this, there are proportionately fewer households in the higher social

classification grades (i.e. managerial / administrative professions) and

proportionately more households in the lower grades of semi skilled/ unskilled or not

in work at all.

Table 1 Key facts: Tower Hamlets & Hackney

Tower Hamlets

Hackney London England

Level of unemployment 13.2% 11.4% 7.6% 5.5%

Working age person claiming a benefit 21% 23% 15% 14%

Social Classification D: Semi Skilled and unskilled manual workers

18% 18% 14% 17%

Social Classification E: On state benefits, unemployed, lowest grade workers

23% 21% 15% 16%

Proportion of the population experiencing a County Court Judgement (CCJ) incident (2004)

1.30% 1.91% 1.52% 1.68%

Average debt captured in CCJs (2004) £2,920.44 £2,372.56 £3,136.81 £2,008.78

Source: Data from tables on the National Statistics website

While Tower Hamlets and Hackney residents are no more likely to have a county

court judgement (CCJ) against their name they are more likely to have a higher than

average level of debt. For example 42% of CCJ incidents in Tower Hamlets was for a

debt of over £1,000, compared to the English average, of 31%. The figure was

similarly high in Hackney at 38% of CCJs being for a debt of over £1,000.

In terms of household composition and make up, both boroughs are well

represented by black and minority ethnic households, with the majority of the

population being non White British. In Hackney, 48% of the population are White

British and the corresponding figure for Tower Hamlets is 44%. The single largest

minority ethnic in Hackney are Black British households representing 22% of the

population, while in Tower Hamlets Asian households are the single largest minority

ethnic households, representing 34% of the overall population.



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It is therefore not surprising that 43% of people claiming job seekers allowance

(JSA) in Tower Hamlets are Asian, and 33% of JSA claimants in Hackney are Black

British. There are proportionately more people claiming JSA in Hackney and Tower

Hamlets than in London generally or England.

Another feature of the households in Tower Hamlets and Hackney is that they are

proportionately more likely to have larger households than the London or English

average. While the average number of dependent children per household in England

is 1.83, the corresponding figures for Tower Hamlets and Hackney are 2.28 and 2.06

respectively.



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3 Profile of Made of Money

Made of Money launched in 2005, aims to work directly with 100 families by

September 2008. It was anticipated that within participating families there would be

about 375 children. There was a range of ways Made of Money engaged with local

families including:

Taster sessions;

A series of six to eight workshops;

A residential course;

One-to-one advice.

3.1 Taster sessions

Taster sessions were one off sessions. The audience for the taster sessions were

identified and recruited by partner organisations who had advertised that someone

from the Made of Money project would be coming to (the partner agency venue) to

talk about money issues. It was often the case that the partner agency would be

running a related course (for example on parenting skills) and invite Made of Money

to contribute to any session focusing on money issues. The taster sessions provided

an opportunity to see if there was a swell of interest in learning more about how to

handle money. As a result of feedback from the taster sessions there was scope for

Made of Money to run a six or eight week course on learning about money.

In total there were 10 taster sessions.

However, due to the nature of the invitations to the taster sessions (voluntary drop

in sessions), monitoring of who attended the sessions was limited. While it would

have been ideal to collect information on the profile of people who attended taster

sessions, it is reasonable to expect attendees to sign in, but not necessarily



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reasonable to request more detailed information on who they are and what their

personal circumstances are.

For this reason when we explore who has accessed Made of Money the families

accessing the taster sessions are excluded.

3.2 Workshops

Workshops consist typically of six two-hour sessions held once a week for six weeks.

At the time of writing (September 2008) there had been 77 workshop sessions run

since the project’s inception in September 2005. In addition there had been 10 taster

sessions (see above) and three courses aimed exclusively at young people.

All the workshops have been held in venues where partner organisations are based,

for example in primary schools or in Sure Start community facilities.

A range of money related issues are covered each week and examples of the types

of themes are shown below:

Advertising;

Attitudes and values;

Bank accounts and savings;

Branding;

Budgeting and saving;

Children and money;

Communication around money with children;

Credit;

Debt;

How we spend money;

Managing household bills;

Managing your money;

Opening and using a bank account;

Saving;



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Sending money abroad.

A Made of Money facilitator, using a lesson plan, leads the workshops. The delivery

is based on a mixture of sit and learn, and learn through group or individual

exercises.

One of the final workshops is called a family learning day where participants are

encouraged to bring their whole family, partner and children included, to join in a fun

day which largely uses exercises and activities to talk to families about money

issues. There have been ten family learning days since the project started. One

course, consisting of seven workshop sessions was with young people, supported by

a local media company, who made a film about the pressure of buying branded

clothes when you are a teenager. Eight young people took part in this series of

workshops. The film is on YouTube.

3.3 Residential course

Some workshop series have also included a residential weekend or week; there had

been two residential courses between October 2005 and September 2008. One of

the residential courses was a 4-day session; the other was a weeklong session. At

the residential courses family relationships towards money were explored in detail.

Both residential sessions were completely separate from the workshops, inviting a

mix of families from past workshops and new families. The courses aim to provide a

fun and practical introduction for children to money matters, including advertising,

peer pressure and the use of money. The course is also an opportunity for Made of

Money to work with the whole family, to support families to explore how they

communicate with each other. The second residential took place over a week at in

Surrey, in partnership with another QSA project, Knees Up. This offered families

both a chance to explore money matters as well as looking at their communities and

issues such as personal safety.



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3.4 One to One advice

Made of Money also offers one-to-one advice to all families who have attended

workshops, of which 18 took this up. This can be in the form of telephone advice or

face-to-face meetings. Commonly Made of Money staff would provide one-to-one

advice directly after a workshop session, and then continue to provide telephone

support and advice as needed by the family. There are also a small number of

families who received one-to-one advice only, without attending workshops,

generally through referral from partner agencies or self-referral.

3.5 Monitoring and evaluation tools

There is a range of monitoring tools used by Made of Money in an effort to establish

the impact it is having on participating families. The tools include:

Skills and knowledge self assessment sheet;

Emotional well-being sheet;

Evaluation meeting that takes place eight weeks after the final session.

In addition Made of Money facilitators complete a post session form that sets out

their opinions and experiences of what worked well and not so well in each session.

The skills and knowledge self-assessment sheets and the emotional well-being

sheets are designed to be completed at the beginning of a six/eight-week course and

again at the end. The sheet seeks information on the confidence levels of

participants and the areas where participants feel they need more knowledge on,

such as budgeting, borrowing, handling debt or teaching children about money. The

evaluation sheets also try to get participants to write down what they feel they have

learnt from the project and how they feel about being involved in the project.

The post session evaluation, which usually takes place a couple of months after the

last session people attended, asks the same set of questions again, in an attempt to

track any positive change in people’s perceptions about money and their relationship

with it.



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4 Profile of Participants

Figure 1 shows that between September 2005 and September 2008, 186 families

participated in sessions run by Made of Money. As anticipated, the majority of

families were from Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Figure 1 Made of Money participants by Borough

186

111

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Within the 186 families there were 367 dependents—, equating to 2.0 children per

family. This is slightly lower than the Tower Hamlet population profile, which states

2.28 children per households, but the same as the Hackney population profile

(described in section 2.2 above), which has 2.06 children per household on average.

As Figure 2 shows, the large majority of participants were non White British. The

single largest ethnic group was Asian – Bangladeshi’s who accounted for 41% of

participating families.



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The majority of family members attending the workshops were women, (142 out of

the 158 attendees whose gender was recorded), within a range of household types

including single parents and two parent families. Data collected on the 367

dependents indicates that the just under half of participants children were female

(48%) with 52% being male.

Figure 2 Made of Money Participants by ethnicity

41%

25%

15%

8%

5%4% 2%

Asian - Bangladeshi Black or Black British White British

Asian or Asian British Mixed White Other

Not stated

Made of Money worked with local organisations to identify families who may benefit

from the project. In total Made of Money worked with 18 partner agencies that

found families who took part in the project. In addition, an article in the local

newspaper in Tower Hamlets ‘East End Life resulted in five families taking part in

the project, along with 19 families who heard about the project through word of

mouth. The two agencies in Hackney, Hackney Downs Sure Start and the Kings

Family Centre provided links to 45 families who worked with Made of Money. In

Tower Hamlets the single most common route for Made of Money participants was

via local primary schools, as Figure 3 below illustrates. Thirty-six families came from

five primary schools.



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Figure 3 How participants found out about Made of Money

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5 Experiences of people using Made of Money

Eighteen people were interviewed as part of the evaluation, with the aim of

establishing if Made of Money had made an impact on their lives, and in what way.

We explored what aspects of Made of Money people liked and how they have used

what they learnt through the project. We also explored what could have worked

better.

5.1 Why people got involved

Participants had largely heard about Made of Money through a third party, principally

a local organisation whose services the participant already accessed. Impressions of

what the sessions were going to be about also varied. Some thought the course was

about how to make money, while others thought it was how to save money, and

others thought it was about learning about money.

‘I was quite sure [what Made of Money was about], but it was better than I

expected’. (Participant)

The reasons for deciding to attend the project sessions varied and included the

desire and or need to:

Tackle debt;

Find out about the basics about money;

Learn how to feel B in control of personal finance;

Improve personal budgeting skills.

A couple of participants had been involved in earlier parenting course, run by partner

agencies, and thought it would be good to carry on looking at money issues in more

detail. A couple also mentioned that they had good relations with the voluntary



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agency who had told them about Made of Money so they thought they would go

because they like the agency, rather than an initial desire to know about money

issues.

5.2 Group/individual exercises

Learning through doing is a key theme in the Made of Money approach to

understanding money issues. This led to sessions that focused on group activities

and practical exercises. There would be a group activity at the start of each session

to relax participants and to kick start the session. A popular activity was the taste

test. This involved tasting the same food product by different brands. The taste test

typically included tasting branded and supermarket own label products. Participants

recalled tasting jaffa cakes, cereal and yoghurts. The session would then focus on

the results of the taste test allowing a dialogue to open up around branding, costs

and perceptions. Several participants interviewed for this review now bought own

label products purely based on their experiences with the taste test. At a minimum

this exercise encouraged participants to stop and think about why they were buying

the branded product, hence opening up the issue of choice and understanding our

choices in terms of how to spend money.

The other popular exercise that participants recall, and several still use, is the

spending diary. For this exercise participants would write down what they spend

their money on, on a day-by-day basis.

‘I didn’t like the idea of writing everything down, it was far too scary! But once I did

it I was glad I had done it.’ (participant)

While this was not an exercise that was completed during a session, the ideas and

practical ways to complete a spending diary were discussed during the session, and

then at a later session analysed and discussed between facilitator and participants.

The aim of the spending diary exercise was to raise awareness among the



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participants of where money is spent weekly, and then to explore what are essential

items and what are bought to satisfy ‘emotional’ needs.

The activities varied according to the subject matter and the group of participants.

The consistent message across all activities was that learning about money should be

fun not terrifying. Some participants could remember the activities they had done

during the sessions and recognised that they would think about the underlying

theme around the activities during their daily lives. For example one participant

commented:

‘There was another card game, linked to credit options like catalogue, loan, credit or

debit options. It covered issues around high interest rates, and the things you

shouldn’t go for. It was good fun, I remember it so well. Every time I do something

the lessons from Made of Money pops into my head’.

5.3 Factual information

Part of the session would be based on factual evidence, with some sessions focusing

more on factual evidence than others. For example sessions on credit and debt were

more likely to provide participants with factual information on for example definitions

and different types of credit and debt. Discussions would then be held on personal

understanding around these issues.

The extent to which the factual information, for example on different forms of credit,

was already known to participants varied. For those with some existing knowledge,

the factual information was still seen as useful as it helped some to recognise that

what they had been doing prior to the sessions had been the right thing in terms of

sensible management of money. This boosted individual confidence.

‘I am quite good with money anyway but it did give me useful information and gave

me more confidence.’ (participant)



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Participants welcomed the factual information, and in particular the signposting to

other agencies. Several commented on the useful money saving website mentioned

by Made of Money in the participant resource pack, and others welcomed information

on credit options, and credit unions. One young person said:

‘The sessions were good, they talked through things like APR and loan charges,

which is useful to know if I go to university’.

Several participants also welcomed advice from the Made of Money facilitators on

how to deal with debt. While the facilitators did not give debt advice, they were able

to talk to participants about the agencies available to help and ideas about how they

may help, including the payplan scheme whereby all debts are amalgamated and a

monthly amount debited from your bank account each month. The value of knowing

this existed and accessing the service was seen as very valuable.

‘[Made of Money] helped me with understanding money. They [Made of Money staff]

gave me the name of someone who can put all my debts in one place… I want to get

it sorted out’. (participant)

Alongside the factual information provided during the sessions, participants

welcomed the willingness of the Made of Money facilitators to research information

requests for participants and provide information on issues beyond the direct remit of

the sessions to individual participants. Information researched and provided to

participants included information on:

Child Trust Funds;

Applying for jobs and job applications;

College courses and applications;

Credit card insurance;

Food co-operatives, organic and free range food;

Employment rights;

Islamic banking;

Credit scoring;

Stocks and shares;



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Water meters.

5.4 The facilitators

Staff employed at Made of Money project had a range of experience in talking to

people about sensitive issues and about running training courses, which they bought

with them to the posts at Made of Money, the preparation for the course, deciding

on course materials, and the way in which the content of the sessions are delivered

are appreciated by participants. All the participants interviewed for this evaluation

appreciated the personable attitude of the staff, and welcomed the skills and

knowledge they had. Partner agencies that had sat in on Made of Money sessions

also thought the facilitators were very good.

‘The facilitator was great. She was really involved with the parents, understood their

background and how they might run into (financial) difficulties… it was good to get

someone to talk to them about their financial situations. You don’t get that a lot’.

(partner agency)

‘ The facilitators were excellent, how they went through everything was great, they

didn’t look down on you or tell you how you should have done things’. (participant)

There was a sense that the facilitators were willing to listen, were informed about

money issues, were good at engaging with people at all levels, and were responsive

to individual or group needs. For example they would come to sessions armed with

information that had been requested the week before, and this information was

strictly beyond the remit of the training sessions (see section above).

The weekly sessions enabled people to get to know people in their group, giving

them confidence to talk about their own personal finance situation. There was no

pressure to talk but the way the course was ran, the other participants and the way

the facilitators dealt with people, encouraged an atmosphere of confidence.



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‘You talked to the extent you felt comfortable, there was no pressure to say things

you did not want to say. It was easy to talk to the other women on the course … I

felt comfortable because everyone was in the same situation’. (participant)

5.5 The venue

The majority of Made of Money sessions have been held in venues known and used

by participating families, whether that is a school or church or other voluntary sector

venue. There were no complaints about the venues, the refreshments available or

the crèche that was often available. People were at ease with the venue and it was

usually very local to their homes.

The only potential problem with venues was booking available rooms for the duration

of the sessions, and this appeared to be a problem principally for the partner

agencies operating in primary schools.



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6 Working with partner agencies

One of the initial targets of Made of Money was to work with five partner agencies.

Made of Money is reliant on partner agencies recruiting families to the sessions. As

part of setting up the project QSA did a large mail out to organisations known to be

working in Tower Hamlets and Hackney. The purpose of the mail out (which was

done via email and mail shot) was to introduce Made of Money and to highlight

opportunities for partnership working. While the response to the mail out was very

small, Made of Money was able to start developing working relationships with two

organisations, both of whom they still work today. The Made of Money team also

followed up all the sure start contacts they had to explore the possibility of running

sessions with their families.

The role of the partner agency is crucial to the success of Made of Money Partner

agencies:

Invite families they know to attend Made of Money through:

o circulating flyers (produced by Made of Money)

o talking to families face to face

o inviting Made of Money to come to a course that the partner agency was running and to briefly speak about money issues

Encourage people to attend a taster session

Encourage people to attend a full six/eight week course,

In one sense this limits the families who will be able to access Made of Money as it

implies that they must already be accessing local services to know about Made of

Money. However, because partner agencies include churches and primary schools, a

wide cross section of families have the opportunity to take part in Made of Money.

‘We have everyone from opera singers, referrals from the police, homeless

households and people who self refer because they are interested in the subject

matter’. (partner agency)



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Partner agencies were interested in working with Made of Money as the service

offered through Made of Money dovetailed into the services they were providing,

commonly parenting courses, including looking at issues around money.

Partner agencies were different in their approach as to whom they told about Made

of Money. One agency targeted families they knew could do with ‘some extra

support with their finances’ while others told all families they came into contact with

about the opportunity to attend Made of Money. Some agencies found it difficult to

encourage people to attend Made of Money in the first instance, as people were not

that keen or interested, or said that they could not give the time commitment

required. Other families would say that they were going, but fail to attend.

‘First of all I selected people who I thought were in most need but attendance was

that low that we delayed the first session… in the end I invited everyone I worked

with to get attendance levels up’. (partner agency)

However, once families started attending Made of Money agencies reported that the

families were keen and committed to go to all sessions.

There were three main issues raised by partner agencies. The first was the potential

difficulties of scheduling in Made of Money sessions, and this was particularly the

case within the primary schools where timetables were defined at the start of term

and the rooms allocated. In these cases time was needed to plan a Made of Money

event in, particularly if there were to be eight sessions. Secondly the time

commitment required from the partners to recruit families was an issue for some

agencies.

‘There was an assumption that I would do all the inviting of families and chasing to

see if they wanted to attend… I don’t have the time to chase non-attendance’.

(partner agency)

The third issue was the number of sessions held. One partner thought that perhaps

there were too many sessions, and that families were questioning the relevance of

the later sessions. However, the agency also commented that feedback from families



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was generally very positive and that the agency would be happy to work with Made

of Money again.

The interest in working with Made of Money in the future was consistent across all

partner agencies interviewed for this review. Two agencies were continuing to work

with Made of Money while the other three would be interested in working with them

again at some point. While one agency said that they would be interested but have

no plans as they are running other types of courses, another was keen but no

sessions were planned due to limited capacity at Made of Money.

Made of Money was committed to working with families with children, and hence

were interested in working with sure start agencies. These agencies were open to

the idea of Made of Money running sessions with their families, but their preference

was for one off sessions while Made of Money was looking to achieve six plus

sessions. In addition, the Made of Money team found that targeting families with

very young children was not quite achieving the project aims of getting families to be

more confident and able to talk to each other about money. This was principally

because the families accessing sure start services had very young children who were

too young to understand the concepts around money issues.



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7 Benefits

7.1 Budgeting skills

Participants felt they had benefited from Made of Money as they were much more

able to budget their money. The spending diary, the test tests and the range of

issues covered throughout the sessions had increased participants understanding of

budgeting.

‘I now have more idea about how to budget. I do spend on some things which I am

trying to curb, but some things I don’t need to spend on, I am not now buying’.

(Participant)

Practical things people had done to help them manage their money included:

Continue to use the spending diary

Write down annual expenditure on essential items, like school uniforms

Use energy efficient light bulbs and turn appliances off when not in use

More conservative use of heating in the home

More home cooking and fewer takeaways.

The views were mixed on whether Made of Money had made people ‘better off’

financially. Some were quite clear that there was a link between the Made of Money

sessions and their improved budget management, and astute approach to buying

products. A couple of participants said that before the sessions they were not saving

any money at all, whereas after the sessions they were able to start saving, or at

least to think about saving money in the near future.

I also learnt the value of saving, which I am trying to do now’. (participant)

The money saving tips, coupled with tailored advice to individuals, were perceived as

being very influential in improving a person’s financial position.



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‘Made of Money taught me how to save money for the weekend. Now I budget for

the whole week’. (participant)

A couple of participants were in debt when they attended Made of Money sessions.

There was agreement that the sessions, and in particular the staff had helped them

get to grips with issues around debt.

‘I felt more confident when I had been to Made of Money because they [Made of

Money] told me not to let creditors scare me [as the creditors were calling at my

house]. I didn’t want to face it [the debt] but they said you have to do it. I am now

on payplan, all my debts are in being paid, so it is much easier’. (participant).

‘It was definitely down to Made of Money that I got rid of the debts’. (participant)

7.2 Financial awareness

They felt they had better financial knowledge than before the course.

‘I still put lessons from the course into practice. I really cut down, and I have been

really really good and not got sucked in and bought things when I don’t need it’.

(participant)

Set up standing orders

Started to pay essentials like gas and electricity through direct debit to spread the cost.

Set up different bank accounts to help manage money

Check receipts when shopping, and shop around for cheaper brands

Applied for welfare benefits they are entitled to but had not claimed in the past

While there was no great rush to go and talk to banks or other lenders, there was a

sense among participants that they would feel happy enough doing this now,

whereas before they would have been perhaps more apprehensive.



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The sessions on credit options, and interest rates had been valuable to some

participants, as they had little knowledge of the financial world and financial jargon

prior to the course.

7.3 Confidence levels

Increasing levels of confidence about how to handle money was one of the main

benefits cited by the majority of participants interviewed. Part of this confidence

appeared to stem from a greater awareness of what money was actually being spent

on a day-to-day basis. With this came a greater sense of choice, what to spend

money on and what not to spend money on unnecessarily. Participants did point out

however that although they may feel more confident and manage their money

better, life at times was still a struggle financially.

‘I still feel panicky about money, I don’t feel confident.’ (participant)

Others described themselves as ‘being fine but under pressure’.

Participants acknowledged that they might well spend on items that they know are

not ‘necessary’ but that since they attended Made of Money workshops, they are

aware of the choices they make.

A couple of participants had gained confidence through the course, and one had

decided to continue education as a direct result of what she experienced on the

course. Others were taking steps to improve their life, including, applying for work,

changing careers and doing voluntary work

7.4 Communicating with family members

7.4.1 Communicating with adults

A key aim for Made of Money was to improve communication within the family about

money issues. Participants had mixed views on how well they communicated with

their families about money issues. Some had limited family networks, and hence



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tended to deal with money issues alone. Some were in debt and did not want to talk

to their family, preferring to try to sort it out by themselves, even when relationships

were good. Others however, had taken the step of talking to parents or partners

about money issues, particularly around debt.

‘I have always had support from my family, and I have talked to them about debt,

whereas before the course I wouldn’t necessarily have mentioned it in case I got into

trouble with her [mum]. It was really difficult but I did it.’ (participant)

In addition, there were some who thought that through the Made of Money

workshops they had helped open up family discussions about money. Some

recognised that their partners had dealt with all the bills and money issues prior to

the course, and there was willingness for participants to get involved in taking

responsibility for managing household finances.

Practical outcomes from attending Made of Money included:

Talking to partner about how money is spent

Persuading partner to consider shopping in other shops other than the larger supermarkets

Talking to partner about money worries, before it hits crisis point

More general conversations about money issues within the family

‘I talk to my husband about money issues. How we can avoid debt and what worries

we have.’ (participants)

7.4.2 Communicating with children

One of the aims of MADE OF MONEY is to ‘empower parents to feel more in control

of their finances and the wider impact these have’. Part of the empowerment

process relates to improving communication with children on money issues.

The majority of participants had children and there was a range of views on what

age children understand about money. Some felt that it was never too young to talk

to children about the value of money, while some felt that around the age of 7 was



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when children started to understand. It is also the age when they see more

advertising, through watching more TV including mainstream TV rather than children

specific channels, being open to influence from advertising.

The family learning day had engaged with children and their parents, again using a

range of practical tools, including taste testing, making a bank, making puppets and

role playing. Those who had been involved in family learning days thought that this

was a valuable part of Made of Money, it was an opportunity for children to talk

about money with professional facilitators. Participants felt that their children

remembered the session, even if they didn’t always act rationally in terms of wanting

parents to buy things for them.

There was no doubt that there was more to do in terms of working with children on

money issues. The fact that children may have a greater appreciation of budgeting

does not mean that they are always sympathetic to the demands placed on their

parents. It was seen as an ongoing issue for some parents. The advantage of going

to Made of Money was that it gave parents the skills to say no, and the confidence.

‘It is difficult to say no to your children when they want something but it is good for

them to understand that they cant have everything. I do have the confidence to say

no now’. (participant)

One participant with young children said that the family learning day had stimulated

her children’s interest in managing money. Another thought the session had made

her children understand that you need money to buy things. This made it easier for

her to say no, on the basis of telling the children there was no money to spend.

‘The scheme has helped me to talk to my children about money, if I take them

shopping they can use a calculator and help me decide.’ (participant)

One participant said that her children now had a reward system whereby they have

to do something good to get money, rather than automatically getting what they

asked for.



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Some parents with older children were pleased with how their children had reacted

to what they had learnt through Made of Money. There was still a desire to buy

labelled goods, but children were now shopping around to see if they could get a

good deal. There was also more willingness to listen to the parents point of view,

and this was particularly the case where the child wanted to renew an existing item

but where the parent was able to talk to them about the real need or otherwise of

renewing an item.

7.5 Emotional development

One of the underlying aims of Made of Money was to address the emotional impact

that money issues have on the family. There were exercises within the sessions that

tackled emotional spending, e.g. buying something for your child because you think

they may like it, and buying it makes you feel you are being a ‘good’ parent.

There were other more subtle emotional issues being discovered and explored by

participants, including:

The chance to talk about their personal experiences around money (to a degree where they were comfortable)

The chance to think about how they deal with finance within the home

The chance to hear other people’s experiences and points of view

The confidence the course gave them in dealing with money issues

The sense that they were being listened to (by the facilitators and the other participants)

The motivation to change the way they saw or dealt with money in the home

The opportunity to engage with their children around money issues outside the home setting

The opportunity to reflect on how they handle money.



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8 Strengths

The strength of Made of Money is that it is delivering a service that people agree

they need, where the impact of receiving the service has a positive effect on the

quality of individual’s lives. The sections above describe the positive experiences and

impact Made of Money has had, and is still having, on households.

While the subject covered in the sessions is very relevant to households on low

incomes, the key strength lies in the way in which the course is delivered. The skill of

the facilitators to deliver information that is often viewed with fear and

misunderstanding, is essential. Particularly when the target group of clients may

have low literacy levels, may not have English as a first language, and may be

experiencing financial exclusion.

In addition, the ability of the facilitators to put people at their ease, to enable people

to talk confidently and to respond sensitively has been a significant factor in the

success of Made of Money as perceived by participants and partner organisations.

The result is that everyone interviewed was very positive about his or her

experiences with Made of Money. On the delivery of Made of Money people were

positive about:

The way the sessions were delivered

The professional yet approachable nature of the facilitators

The range and purpose of exercises they were asked to get involved in

The factual information provided to them

The practical resource pack that they took away with them once the course was over

The way their children had been engaged by MADE OF MONEY in the family learning sessions and residential course (where appropriate)

The respect between participants within the course, making it relatively easy to speak openly and honestly.

The course is well resourced in terms of material to use in each session, and

preparation by the facilitators is evident. Many of the sessions involved the



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facilitators bringing materials along, to enable practical exercises, like the taste

testing, to be done. The materials within the resource pack are well researched, and

the level of detail is about right. There is a wealth of information around on

managing money, budgeting, APRs, debt etc, but the resource pack does not

overwhelm. It is easy to reference and written in simple English. As one participant

said, the resource pack can be used for a long time, as the information within it on

the whole is not likely to change.

The preparation, course materials and the ability of the facilitator enables a course to

be delivered that is structured yet informal. Participants appeared knowledgeable on

what the course was going to offer on a week-by-week basis, once they had

attended the first session. Sessions were tailored to meet participant needs, so that

if a session raised issues of interest to participants that issue could be focused on

during the session (for example on how to send money abroad). If the issue wasn’t

appropriate for group discussion, the facilitators offered the participants further

discussion at the end of the session or over the phone.

The potential access to ongoing one to one support is a unique strength of Made of

Money. Not every participant needs or wants further contact or advice on money

issues, but the ability of Made of Money to offer this service to participants is very

valuable. One to one contact tended to be with people who were in debt.

Participants and Made of Money staff were quite clear that Made of Money staff were

not there to give ‘debt advice’. They were able to help people become more aware of

issues such as how spending habits impact on the risk of debt, emotional spending

and the impact of debt on families. They also had an important role in providing

emotional support to participants in debt, largely by being accessible at the end of a

phone and to give encouragement that the person was making positive steps

towards improving their life.

The fact that the sessions were held in venues known and used by participants is

also a strength. Familiarity with a venue reduces anxiety if attending a new event or

course like Made of Money, which helps participants to settle down into a course,

relax with other participants and to engage with the facilitators. In addition, the



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participants lived very close to the venue on the whole, so issues around transport

costs and time costs were not a problem.

The intention is that staff involved with Made of Money complete an evaluation sheet

at the end of each session, reporting on what worked well and ways to improve the

session. This provides valuable feedback on how to develop sessions into the future.

Within this feedback issues around language barriers and literacy issues were raised,

which help with project management in the future, whereby sessions can be tailored

to meet the needs of participants.



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9 Weakness

Inevitably there are weaknesses. The main weaknesses for Made of Money are:

The restricted capacity of Made of Money staff

The lack of strategic marketing resulting in limited targeting of participants

The reliance on partner agencies to co-operate and recruit participants

The scope of information that is covered in the course versus the time available.

The difficulty in engaging with children and young people in any way other than briefly during the weekly Made of Money sessions targeted at local families?

9.1 Capacity

Section 8 highlighted that a strength of Made of Money was the ability of the

facilitators to offer one to one support to individuals. This is also however a

weakness given the current staffing resources available to Made of Money. This is

because the time dedicated to providing one to one support impacts on staff

resources available to develop the project, to review progress, to seek out new

partners and new participants. It may well impact on the relationships within the

team, putting strains on both the manager and other staff.

One to one support may be ‘booked in’ when the participant is on the course,

typically with staff talking to an individual in depth once the session has finished for

the day. This is manageable, although it still impacts on the time available to do

other tasks. The unknown, and hence the weakness, is when an individual contacts

staff for support outside the course, and due to the nature of the relationship and

the desire of Made of Money staff to provide a personalised service to individuals,

time is diverted from other tasks. This unknown can impact on what staff achieve in

a working day. This has a significant impact on Made of Money because the majority

of the small team work part time. Added to this is the need to monitor one to one



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contact with clients, and hence the creation of additional administration. There may

also be further time commitments based on the contact if Made of Money staff need

to go and research an issue on behalf of a client.

9.2 Marketing and partnership working

Weaknesses around marketing and partnership working has been touched on in

section 6. The issues here are around the lack of strategic planning and follow

through at the start of the project. A large mail out was carried out, based on a list

QSA staff we put together of agencies working with families in the target boroughs.

There was then reliance and dependency on organisations contacting Made of Money

based on a cold call mail out email or letter. As in any industry ‘cold calling’ doesn’t

give you many leads.

Efforts were made to contact all the Sure Start organisations on the existing

database, and there was some success with Sure Start in Hackney. The problem

trying to work with Sure Start agencies was that households using Sure Start tended

to have pre school children that were on the whole not the target group Made of

Money was targeting. The realisation that accessing families through Sure Start was

not the best approach, was reached when staff reviewed the work that they had

done in the early days. The first two years of Made of Money was experimental, in

that staff tried things to see what worked and what didn’t. Sure Starts were an

obvious place to reach families, but in the end it was determined by Made of Money

staff that it didn’t work well.

The other weakness around partnership working is the reliance on the partner

organisation to ‘recruit’ participants. While for some, working specifically with low-

income households, identifying potential eligible households was relatively easy,

others adopted a broad-brush approach. This involved inviting anyone who used the

service, such as a school or a church, to take part in Made of Money. This means

that there is no control over who attends Made of Money, which in itself makes it



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harder to establish if it is meeting one of the aims of QSA, which is to work with low-

income households.

It could be argued that only people with concerns about how they are managing with

money would be interested in going on a course called Made of Money. However,

participants went on the course for a number of reasons, and it included ‘just to

make sure I was doing the right things already’. Also, with rising living costs, fears

about the credit crunch, and the general mood towards recycling and conservation,

more people could be interested in courses like Made of Money regardless of income

level.

This does not mean that Made of Money should restrict which families participate, it

is about recognising the limitations of expressly stating that you work solely with

low-income households. It is also about recognising that if marketing is widespread

but not targeted, people will want to attend the course, who perhaps are not on low

incomes. The knock on effect of this may mean that there will be fewer places for

people on low incomes and experiencing financial or social exclusion, or other forms

of deprivation. This brings up another weakness of Made of Money and that is the

monitoring of who attends the courses.

9.3 Data collection

Participants do register on the course, and some information is collected about

household type and employment status. However, records appear inconsistent in

terms of the level of information recorded for each participant. Participant name is

systematically recorded, but information on household members, employment status

and marital status appear on occasion to be incomplete. This limits the effectiveness

of analysing records to assess whom the project is reaching. In addition there is no

information collected on income levels, household tenure, debt history. The value of

collecting information on household circumstances is that it can:

Assist Made of Money better understand who its client base are



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Provide information that can be used to tailor future courses

Provide information in which to assess the wider impact of Made of Money

Provide evidence with which Made of Money could use to secure additional funding/ partner support.

To comply with the Data Protection Act, information should only be collected that is

going to be used appropriately. But there is an argument that more systematic

recording of clients and analysis of that data would be beneficial to the aims of Made

of Money. There is always the option of asking people to provide personal

information at the end of the course, when they have had a chance to get to know

the Made of Money team, and have built up a relationship of trust. People would

therefore be more willing to provide personal data at the end of the course than at

the beginning.

9.4 Time and content of sessions

Sessions were typically held during the day, and usually lasted between 2 and 2.5

hours. The weakness here is twofold. The first is that by holding the courses during

the day only participants who are not working can attend. Even those working part

time may have difficulty attending. While this is not necessarily a major weakness of

the project, the implications of holding courses during the day time needs to be

recognised.

Linked to this is the time in the day the courses are held. Courses started at between

9.15 (most schools) and 10 or 10.30am (mostly community centres as this was their

preferred start-time) and this proved to be a factor in recruiting people to attend

courses, particularly when the courses were held at the school. The course start time

did not fit into the time when parents dropped their children off. The result was that

people had to either come back to school for the course, or hang around until the

course started. This was only an issue for 2 courses , for the other schools the

course was ran right after drop off.



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The second issue is around the content of the sessions. There is so much information

that could be shared with participants, that occasionally sessions did not cover all

intended material. It was down to the judgement of the facilitators as to which topics

could be omitted. Again, this is not necessarily a fundamental problem with Made of

Money but it is something that should be reviewed regularly to ensure that it is not

having a detrimental effect on the overall aims of Made of Money Participants

interviewed for this review thought that the content as delivered met their needs, so

maybe it is a case of simply recording and reviewing which elements of the sessions

were omitted and why.

9.5 Engaging with children

A key aim of Made of Money was to ‘equip children and young people with the skills

needed to make informed choices about money’. The project was successful at

engaging and working with families, many of whom had children The family learning

days and the residential courses were the main ways in which Made of Money

worked directly with young people. Made of Money also carried out a successful

project that involved young teenagers making a film about advertising and the

pressures of being young. There was also one course, comprising three sessions,

held in the evening, aimed at young people and another similar course working with

scouts.

The weakness is the ability of Made of Money to work with a wider group of young

people, or work with young people over a sustained period, looking at money issues.

Participants interviewed who had children attend the family learning day, stated that

their children had enjoyed the day, the real extent to which Made of Money, and the

young people interviewed also stated that they had learnt new things and enjoyed

the sessions. However, the extent to which Made of Money is actually ‘equipping

children and young people with the skills’ is difficult to judge. It is certainly raising

children’s awareness of money and budgeting, and improving the confidence of

parents to talk to their children about money. Maybe further thought is needed on

the word ‘equip’ within the aims.



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10 Other issues

10.1 Wider impact of Made of Money

It is difficult to judge what impact Made of Money is having on the wider community

in which it operates, and the long-term impact it has on the individual participants it

works with. While there is no doubt that it has a positive impact on the individuals it

works with in the short term, the value of the project into the longer term depends

on how participants use the tools they were equipped with over the course in the

long term.

On a positive note some of the participants interviewed for this review had attended

the course more than a year ago, and they still remembered the key lessons they

had learnt during the course. The majority also said that they were as confident

about money issues now as they were when they first completed the course.

Practical tips such as checking receipts, logging expenditure and paying by direct

debit were still common characteristics of the budgeting process for many.

Participants had also often talked about their experiences on the course with friends

and family. Some participants had even recruited friends or family onto the sessions

once they had started, while some had shared the resource pack information with

friends and family. This implies that there is seepage of the lessons learnt within the

sessions into the wider community, it is just not measurable.

10.2 Sustainability in the longer term

Partner agencies definitely identified with the continuing need for a service such as

that offered by Made of Money. The course was seen to fit well alongside services

offered by partner agencies, such as parenting course. Participants too recognised

the value of the courses they attended, although there was not a significant demand

for courses of a similar nature once they had attended Made of Money. As the



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current size of Made of Money in terms of sessions held, and clients reached, has

impacted on relatively few members of the community within Hackney and Tower

Hamlets generally, there is surely more mileage in continuing to work with

communities in these two boroughs.

There has been funding for Made of Money in the first three years, and as with any

voluntary specialist service, future funding is not guaranteed. There is a fundraising

team within QSA who seek new funding for Made of Money. Just over two thirds of

funding has come from Charitable Trusts (non Quaker) with an additional 27%

received from Quaker sources.

While accumulated income over accumulated expenditure for the project (up to 31

March 2008) shows a slight deficit of £1,360, this deficit is due to expenditure costs

(e.g. staffing and management activity) before the official launch of the project, at

which point grants were received, including from Friends Provident, John Horniman

and Tudor Trust. When this deficit is subtracted from the grants received, there

remains an accumulated surplus over the period 1 October 2005 to 31 March 2008 of

£5,297.

Corporate donations and local government grants are the two areas where funding

to date has been very limited. There may be scope to target these two sectors for

further funding. In addition there is further scope to tap into other charitable

sources, such as housing associations operating in Hackney and Tower Hamlets,

which have a role in contributing to improving people’s lives. Housing association

tenants are typically not working, on lower incomes and could benefit from financial

capability training.

10.3 Accessing clients

There is scope for Made of Money to continue building relationships in the two core

boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets. As described in section 2.2 there are



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sufficient households on low incomes and experiencing some form of exclusion or

deprivation to warrant concentrating Made of Money solely in these two boroughs.

It may be prudent for Made of Money to consider how best to engage with potential

partner organisations, as the initial mail out could have been managed more

strategically, and the expectation that the partner agencies recruits and chases

clients may deter some partners from working with Made of Money

Participants interviewed for this study were asked what might deter people from

attending Made of Money sessions. A range of reasons were suggested around the

marketing of Made of Money including:

The flyers were misleading and looked serious

The name Made of Money may be misunderstood by people

Location of session

Practical barriers were also identified:

Work commitments

Childcare commitments

Time commitment

Language barriers

Other reasons suggested included:

Lack of knowledge that the course is running

Lack of confidence

Embarrassment

People don’t want to talk about debt.

‘I don’t think people realise how easy it is going to be – they think because it is

about money it is really serious ‘ (participant)

‘I don’t know why people wouldn’t use Made of Money. From my point of view I

couldn’t live with the debt anymore so I couldn’t not do it. It was essential.’

(participant)



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10.4 Other groups that could benefit from Made of Money

Made of Money has focused on low-income households with children. This has

worked well, with parents and children happy with the interaction they have had with

Made of Money. When asked some participants thought that the project might be

valuable to older people who have to live on a pension, while others thought it would

be useful to focus more on young adults. A couple of people, including partner

agencies said that while Made of Money was largely attended by women, men could

benefit from doing a similar course. One suggested that there should be male only

courses, while another thought it would have been better to get a better mix of men

and women on the course.

The ability of one of Made of Money’s facilitators to speak Bengali enable

Bangladeshi households to have an active part in the sessions. The recruitment of

other facilitators with a second language of a local community dialect would open the

door for participation by other minority ethnic groups where English is not the first

language (perhaps Polish, Turkish or Somali). However, Made of Money is a small

outfit that has to set its priorities as to which part of the local community it perceives

as a priority to work with, with the funding it has available.

10.5 Made of Money’s relationship with Quaker Social Action

QSA aims to help people out of poverty by assisting them to realise their full

potential as individuals and play a valuable part in their own community. There is a

commitment to the values of equality, peace and justice through actively engaging

with the social and material poverty in East London. Made of Money engages with

local communities in East London, and works directly with individuals to help them

realise their potential. So Made of Money clearly sits well within QSA aims.



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When Made of Money started in October 2005, it fitted into QSA’s corporate

Strategic Plan 2004 – 2007, which included growing existing projects, sharing

learning and building profile and influence. QSA’s Strategic Plan 2007 – 2010 follows

on the themes of building on what is already successful within the organisation and

supporting people to be independent. Made of Money fits in well with QSA’s vision

and aims.

Made of Money has worked with over 100 local families, but as described in the

section on weaknesses, current staffing levels do limit the extent to which Made of

Money can have a wider geographical impact. There is certainly scope to continue

and expand Made of Money, building on the lessons learnt so far. As with the overall

desire of QSA to remain East London focused, there is enough demand locally to

continue to focus Made of Money solely in East London Boroughs.

QSA is also keen to develop shared learning and helping other organisations. One of

the aims of Made of Money was to develop shared learning, and to share

experiences of developing and delivering a scheme like Made of Money with other

interested parties. Dissemination funding available for 2008 to 2011 should ensure

that shared learning is enhanced for the project. Made of Money is active in sharing

its experiences with the agencies it is currently working with. The training material

has been shared with one partner agency where two people have been trained on

how to deliver Made of Money sessions for their own clients into the future.

Staff resources, a full programme of events, follow up work with individual clients

through one to one sessions, and administration of Made of Money has limited the

extent to which staff have been able to build the profile of Made of Money locally.

There is a commitment to develop a higher profile, and again concentrating

resources on dissemination in 2008/09 should help Made of Money raise its profile,

not least to encourage further funders to commit financial resources to the project.



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11 Conclusion

Made of Money has worked hard to meet the needs of local communities it has come

into contact with. It has provided a way in which people can look and consider how

they spend, budget, feel, and talk within the home, about money issues. The

uniqueness of Made of Money is in the way it delivers the information to participants,

who potentially have limited literacy including financial literacy, and are living on

below average incomes. Through role play, group discussion, focused activities that

get participants moving around, sharing ideas and thinking for themselves, Made of

Money encourages people to take stock of how they spend their money. It is not

prescriptive or authoritarian, but allows people to develop the tools and confidence

to manage money.

Although there is perhaps more work to be done in engaging more directly with

young people and children to ‘equip them with the skills to understand the role of

money in society’, there is firm evidence that Made of Money is very successful at

meeting its aims of enabling families to have more open communication about

money and empowering parents to feel more in control of their finances.

It has met the targets it set itself at the outset of working with around 100 families,

and working with five partner agencies. It has also produced a resource pack that all

participants interviewed for this study very much welcomed.

Individual sessions delivered, whether taster sessions, residential courses, or weekly

sessions have been well planned, well prepared and well resourced. The delivery of

the sessions have been flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of people

attending, with the added value of offering one to one support to participants on an

unlimited basis outside the weekly sessions.

The project alone cannot create financial inclusion for participants but it is definitely

playing an important part in improving the financial capability of its clients. The

project alone cannot lead people out of poverty, but it can help people manage

better with what they have. The project cannot provide the whole range and depth

of financial advice potentially required by its clients, but it plays an important part in



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signposting people to relevant specialist agencies, such as debt advisors. Finally, the

project and in particular the dedication and skills of the staff, has helped individuals

to begin to ‘almost enjoy’ dealing with money, rather than being in fear of it.

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